Scooter
Scooter serves as a "gofer" backstage on The Muppet Show, and appeared from the first produced episode through the end of the series. Possessing glasses with eyes embedded in the lenses''The Muppet Show Style Book; Henson Associates: New York, NY, 1978. and generally wearing a green track jacket, Scooter is a vaguely humanoid character of unknown heritage (as cited in ''Of Muppets and Men,Finch, Christopher Of Muppets and Men; Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.: New York, NY, 1981. when pressed about his family, he explained that his mother was a parrot but he didn't know about his father). Although occasionally seen in production numbers, his primary role lay in the backstage plots. From the second through the fourth seasons, Scooter appeared in the opening to greet the guest star with a brisk "15 seconds to curtain." (For the final season, Pops handled the guest star greeting). According to The Muppet Show Style Book, Scooter is about 14 years old. Scooter's position at The Muppet Theater is a general aide and gofer ("...I'll go fer coffee; I'll go fer sandwiches; I'll go for anything you need...")''The Muppet Show: Episode 106 Although initially hired because his uncle, J.P. Grosse, owns The Muppet Theater, Scooter holds on to his job through both nepotism and efficiency. Scooter had been around since the first (production) episode, but his proper introduction, including his hiring and identification as J.P. Grosse's nephew, occurs in episode 106. Scooter's family connections served as a running gag, especially during the first season. The Muppet Show In addition to Scooter's regular job as a gofer, he has also appeared on-stage. He often sang in group numbers or as part of the background chorus, in addition to singing some solo numbers, including "Six String Orchestra" and "There's a New Sound". Scooter also took part in some of the theatrical sketches that were performed on The Muppet Show. In episode 323, in the Muppets production of "Robin Hood", he did double duty, playing the role of Alan A-Dale in addition to working as stage manager. In episode 506, he played the role of the son in the "Jabberwocky" sketch, which was included in addition to the Alice in Wonderland play. Additionally, Scooter took over hosting duties in episode 308, when Kermit accidentally got on an in-service train that took him away from the railroad station where the show was being performed. One notable episode for Scooter is episode 419, in which Scooter leads the others in a correspondence course, "How to Be a Superhero". On occasion, Scooter has helped Miss Piggy in her attempts to get Kermit to become romantically interested in her. These attempts include telling Kermit that Avery Schrieber and Miss Piggy are a couple, paying the audience into applauding for Miss Piggy (or, as Scooter said, "go hog wild"), and tricking Kermit into signing a marriage license before performing in Miss Piggy's supposedly "staged" wedding. In episode 320, Scooter sold backstage passes to some of Sylvester Stallone's female fans. This action angered Kermit, who wanted to have a talk with Scooter. As Kermit introduced Sylvester Stallone, Scooter took the opportunity to get the girls to convince Kermit that they were desperate to see him rather than Stallone; this maneuver is an example of Scooter using his ingenuity rather than his family connections to get out of a tight spot. While others were often unappreciative of Fozzie Bear's jokes, Scooter usually liked them. The two often did acts together. These included musical duets such as "Simon Smith and His Amazing Dancing Bear" and "On Her Doorstep Last Night", and comedy acts like "The Telephone Pole Bit". Specials Scooter has appeared in a number of television specials. In the 1981 special The Muppets Go to the Movies, he played Porthos in The Three Musketeers, and the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz. In The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years, he introduced a montage of guest star clips, saying that his favorite Muppet moments are those with the guest stars. In A Muppet Family Christmas, he found an old film strip of the very first Christmas that the Muppets had ever spent together. In The Muppets at Walt Disney World, he was paired with Bean Bunny. He got a few opportunities to make some cute jokes about Bean. Scooter has also appeared in The Muppets Go Hollywood, John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together, The Fantastic Miss Piggy Show, John Denver and the Muppets: A Rocky Mountain Holiday, and The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson. He also hosted the 1985 video compilation Children's Songs and Stories, and made appearances in Fozzie's Muppet Scrapbook and Rowlf's Rhapsodies with the Muppets. Movie Roles Scooter's movie appearances include The Muppet Movie (as The Electric Mayhem's road manager), The Great Muppet Caper, The Muppets Take Manhattan, Muppets from Space, It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie and The Muppets' Wizard of Oz. In The Muppet Movie, Scooter is the road manager for Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem. In The Great Muppet Caper, he's a resident of the Happiness Hotel. In The Muppets Take Manhattan, he graduates with the other Muppets, and briefly works as a movie theater usher. In It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie, it's revealed that if Kermit wasn't born, Scooter would have been a cage dancer. And in The Muppets' Wizard of Oz, he plays the assistant to the Wizard. In Muppet*Vision 3D, Scooter hosts the preshow film. Due to Richard Hunt's absence at the time, Scooter does not play a significant role in the movie itself; he makes a cameo appearance, riding a bicycle with Janice. Richard Hunt also performed Scooter at Jim Henson's funeral. Muppet Babies Baby Scooter appeared in Piggy's dream sequence in The Muppets Take Manhattan, and he later was a featured member of the Muppet Babies animated series. The Baby Scooter seen on Muppet Babies was redesigned as a brainy, computer-knowledgeable child and he was given a tomboyish twin sister named Skeeter. Casting History * Richard Hunt: The Muppet Show - The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson * Adam Hunt: Muppets from Space (voice only) * Matt Vogel: Muppet Race Mania (voice only) * Brian Henson: It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie - Muppet Party Cruise * Rickey Boyd: The Muppets' Wizard of Oz * David Rudman: Studio DC: Almost Live!, A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa Notes *In the first three Muppet movies, Scooter is seen working with popcorn. In The Muppet Movie, before the Muppets view the first screening, Scooter sells "organic popcorn". In The Great Muppet Caper Scooter sells popcorn as the Muppets, Nicky Holiday, Marla, Carla, and Darla fight over the fabulous Baseball Diamond. In The Muppets Take Manhattan Scooter works as an usher at a movie theater, where the Swedish Chef tosses popcorn into the air and calls it a 3-D effect. Though he never sells popcorn in the latter appearance, the Usher Scooter Action Figure, based on his Manhattan appearance, features an old-fashioned popcorn cart. * Richard Hunt based the character's voice and personality on how he remembered himself from his youth. Book appearances * Bo Saves the Show (1982) * Jim Henson's Bedtime Stories (1991) **''Sweet Dreams'' **''Far-Out Talent'' *''The Phantom of the Muppet Theater'' (1991) *''If You Were Kermit'' (1994) *''The Muppet Show Comic Book'' (2009) *''Muppet Robin Hood'' (2009) *''The Treasure of Peg-Leg Wilson'' (2009) See also *Scooter Alternate Ages *Scooter's Alternate Identities Sources External links *15 Seconds to Curtain! - Scooter Fansite *Your Face! - A Richard Hunt Fansite Category:Muppet Characters Category:The Muppets Characters Category:Muppet Show Characters